Happy Birthday, Wombat Boy
by ClashChick
Summary: ChaseCameron story. Chase gets sick, and we see bits of his backround, living with his alcoholic mother and absent father. Rated T just to be safe.
1. The Wombat Hat

**Happy Birthday, Wombat Boy…**

Disclaimer: I do not own House, M.D., Fox does. If I owned it, they would immediately cancel the show because I would totally mess up the show with my ideas.

Ok, this is my first fanfic, so take it easy on me!! I came up with this idea when I was taking a shower, and I don't know if it's stupid or if it's decent. Anyway, tell me what you think!!

Chapter 1: The Wombat Hat 

Robert Chase awoke to the sound of his shrill alarm clock. He reached to turn it off and in the process swept some things off his nightstand. He groaned as he heard a glass shatter. He could already tell this was going to be a not so great day.

He heaved himself out of bed, and being in the half asleep state he was in, he had already forgotten about the broken glass, and stepped right onto a particularly large piece. He yelled in pain as the glass embedded itself into the bottom of his foot. He swore and fell back into his bed.

He inspected his foot. It wasn't that bad, but wasn't that good, either. He cautiously hobbled to the bathroom, carefully removed the glass, cleaned the wound, and wrapped some gauze around it. It wasn't that deep, so he figured that it would be okay.

He realized that taking a shower while standing on his left foot with gauze on his right wasn't really a good idea. So he sighed and headed to his closet. As he was sifting through his shirts trying to find something decent to wear, a thought hit him.

_It's my birthday today, _he realized. Not surprisingly, it didn't really seem like a big deal. He had learned back in his childhood that while other children's birthdays were special days for them, his weren't. Because of his family, his birthdays were never special, never meant anything to him, just that he was another year older.

He finally finished getting dressed, then limped to the kitchen to grab himself a quick breakfast of a bagel and some coffee. He glanced at the clock. He would be a bit early, but he loved being early-it was so _peaceful_ without House there. House was never there when Chase came in. Chase could count on one hand (without even using all five fingers, mind you) the times that House had come in on time. And that was pretty amazing, considering Chase had been working there for a couple years now.

He headed out of his small apartment complex and made his way to his car. As he tried to open the car door, he sloshed his coffee all over his hands. He swore for the twentieth time that morning, then got into his car. He put the key in the ignition, turned it, and… nothing. He banged his head against the steering wheel in frustration. His foot was throbbing, his left hand was throbbing, half of his coffee was gone, and now his car wouldn't start and he would be late for work.

He got out of his car and tried to figure out what was wrong with it. He eventually fixed it…twenty minutes later. He looked at his watch and groaned. He had to get to the hospital in five minutes…it wasn't happening.

Twenty minutes later, he limped into the glass walled Diagnostics lounge. Cameron and Foreman were there.

"Happy birthday, Chase," Cameron said, smiling. Foreman greeted him also.

"How did you know it was my birthday?" Chase asked, astonished. He had never told anyone it was his birthday…or at least he thought so.

"Here you go," she said, grinning even wider. She handed him a medium sized box with a girly, curlicue ribbon on top. He raised his eyebrows, but just silently took the box and opened it. Inside were a couple ties.

"I figured you could use some good looking ties for once," she said. He rolled his eyes, but thanked her. It was the first time he had gotten a gift in a long time…a _long _time.

Just then, the door of the lounge flew open, and House limped in.

"Hey, gimpy," he said, looking at the way Chase favored his left foot when he got up to get coffee. "What did you do? Want to become like me? It's okay, you can admit it. Everyone wants to be like me. I'm an excellent role model. And why aren't you wearing your birthday suit? Come on, you know Cameron would like it."

Chase rolled his eyes. "I stepped on some glass this morning," he muttered. "And how did you know it's my birthday?"

"Because I'm God, and I know everything," House replied, tossing a pink box with a purple ribbon his way. Chase caught it and eyed it nervously. He didn't know what to expect. What would House buy Chase that wouldn't spray acid, explode in his face or blow up the entire hospital?

"Open it. You'll love it," House said, gesturing at the hideous box.

"What's with the pink and purple?"

"I thought it was pretty. Open the stupid box."

Holding his breath, Chase lifted the top off the box. He saw tons of pink (with purple flowers) tissue paper inside. He ripped away all the tissue paper.

"What the-what in the world is _this_?" Chase asked, curious and repulsed at the same time. Inside the box was a fuzzy, animal shaped hat.

"It's a wombat hat, of course. Put it on!" House said gleefully, grabbing the hat from the box and jamming it on Chase's head. Cameron and Foreman stared at the hideous, fuzzy thing sitting on top of Chase's head. No doubt about it-it was a wombat.

"Look!" House cried, obviously having way too much fun with this. He squeezed one of it's ears, and it responded with a "Crikey, mate!"

"Oh, my lord," muttered Chase, his face turning a dark red. Cameron started to giggle, and Foreman was trying to hold back his laughter, but was starting to fail.

"But wait! There's more!" House said, squeezing it's other ear. Immediately, the Australian anthem filled the room. Chase slid farther down into his seat, and Cameron and Foreman exploded with laughter. As soon as the song was over, Chase ripped the hat off of his head and stuffed it back into the box.

"That's the stupidest gift I've ever gotten..." he muttered.

"Okay, people. Let's get to work. We've got a fifteen year old female…"

Chase tuned out House's voice. He looked at House's gift. He supposed that this...this _thing _was better than no gift at all. It was definitely better than the "gift" he had woken up to on his thirteenth birthday. A gift that involved his mother, some alcohol, and a temper tantrum. A tantrum that ended up being quite painful for him.

Hi, sorry if that wasn't a great ending, I'm having a total brainfart here. Anyways, please review, I don't mind contructive criticism, as long as it isn't flamey! I need to know what I need to work on!


	2. A Bottle of Gin

Hey guys! I hope this chapter is okay, and thanks all of you to the great reviews! You guys know I love reviews! Okay, here's chapter 2.

Disclaimer: I do not own, House M.D. Fox does. I wish I owned it, but sadly, I don't and probably never will. I do own a cat, though, which is just as good, right?

Chapter 2: A Bottle of Gin

Robert awoke to the sound of shattering glass. He glanced at his alarm clock-it read 5:00 AM. He groaned; his mom was usually in the middle of one of her alcohol induced slumbers at this time. He decided that he had better go check on her.

As he swung his feet out of bed, he realized that it was his birthday-he was thirteen today. He smiled slightly, but then the smile faded as he realized what he was getting out of bed for.

He padded down the hallway and up the stairs, and made his way into the spacious kitchen. His mother was sitting amidst a pile of broken glass, clutching a bottle of gin in her left hand, her face streaked with tears.

"He was supposed to come home, Robbie," she sobbed. "He said that he was coming home…" Robert just stood there, not knowing what to do, when suddenly, she threw the bottle of gin against the wall.

"You were supposed to come home, Rowan!" she screamed. "You promised me that you were going to be home!" She started crying too hard to talk.

Robert sighed. There wasn't usually anything he could do when she was like this. Every time his father was a little late coming home, or spent the night at the hospital, she was convinced that he was leaving her.

"Mum, I'm going to go back to bed," he said softly. "Are you going to be okay?"

All of a sudden, the tears stopped. She raised her head slowly to look at her only son. "No, I am not going to be okay," she hissed. "Your father's never coming home. He left us, and it's all your fault. You were never the son he wanted!"

Robert knew that she was just saying these things because she was drunk, but that didn't stop a wave of hurt from washing over him. He looked down.

"Mum, you don't know what you're talking about. He'll come back, just give him a chance."

Emilie Chase just stared coldly at him. Suddenly, she reached up, gripped the counter top, and pulled herself into a wobbly standing position.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that. Don't you dare talk like you know more than I do. Don't tell me to give anyone a chance!" she said, her voice rising. "You ungrateful, stupid little child!" She raised her hand and slapped Robert across the face. The sting brought tears to his eyes, but he blinked them back and tried to calm his mother down.

"Come on, Mum. Let's go back downstairs. Let's go back to bed," he said soothingly, slowly coaxing her towards the stairs. "Dad will be back in a bit, just calm down."

Suddenly, just when Robert reached the top of the stairs, Emilie Chase reached out and hit her son as hard as she could. The force of this was enough to cause Robert to lose his balance. He reached out, grabbed for the railing, and missed. Just before he fell, he registered a look of horror on his mother's face. She hadn't meant to hit him that hard. He had one moment to process this thought before he went tumbling down the stairs.


	3. Daddy's Home

Hey, guys, chappy 3 has arrived! I cannot ask you enough to review!! Please-I thrive on reviews!! Anyway, here it is.

Chapter 3: Daddy's Home 

Robert opened his eyes to see his mother standing over him. He gasped as a wave of pain crashed down on him. His mother knelt down, a look of worry on her face.

"Robbie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Robbie. I'm sorry!" she said, crying.

"Mum, go call dad or…or call an ambulance, or something," he managed to get out. It felt as though he had injured a few ribs-it hurt to breathe and to talk.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Emilie just kept on muttering. Her voice was slurring and her eyes were unfocused. She was more drunk than Robert thought, and he was home alone, injured, with her. He wished that his dad would come home soon-he was in a lot of pain.

Just then, his wish was granted. He heard a key turn in the lock. His mother staggered upright with a look of relief on her face. "Daddy's home, Robbie. He'll take care of you!"

Rowan walked in through the door. Emilie stumbled up to him. "Robbie took a spill down the stairs, Rowan. He's hurt."

Rowan Chase ran over to Robert. "What happened?" he asked urgently.

"Mum…mum hit me too hard, and I fell," Robert said, wincing. "I think my ribs are broken."

"I'm going to call an ambulance. It looks as if your arm's broken. Don't move, you might hurt yourself, alright?" Rowan grabbed the phone and called the emergency number. As soon as he had finished, he hung up with a sigh. "They said that they'll be here as soon as possible. Just hang in there, Robert."

Robert nodded, then gasped at the pain. Black was starting to appear in the corners of his vision. He closed his eyes and let all the pain go as he drifted into unconsciousness.

**A/N Hi, sorry that was so short! Please review!**


	4. I'd Like You To Meet My Whiteboard

Chapter 4: I'd Like You To Meet My Whiteboard

"Chase. Chase. WOMBAT BOY!"

Chase looked up, startled, to see House staring at him.

"Notice how he only answers when I call him Wombat. Anyway, Wombat, differential diagnosis. You should take part. It's loads of fun. What do you think?"

"Uh, well…um, what are the symptoms?" Chase asked, with no idea what they were talking about.

"Hey, Chase, I want you to meet my famous whiteboard. You know it? We write down all the information and symptoms _right here._ We have been writing them down here _since you've started working here. _Anyways, what do you think?"

"I, uh, I think she's sick-" before Chase could finish, House cut him off.

"Brilliant! Clever diagnosis! Right away, Cameron, go test Lindsay or whatever the hell her name is to see if she is sick! That's so brilliant, Chase! This is exactly why I hired you!"

Chase turned bright red. "Sorry, I'm just a little distracted."

"We've noticed," smirked House. "Go to the clinic and go be distracted there. The other two ducklings and I will finish the diagnosis, and you can join in when you're ready to actually think. Meanwhile, you can do MY clinic duty. It'll give you plenty of time to sleep and rest your mind."

Chase sighed, and then headed out of the lounge and down to the clinic. He stopped at the desk.

"Dr. House signs in at-"

The nurse cut him off. "Don't even bother. I'll sign you in, but we have a patient in exam room one. Hurry, before Cuddy catches you. She's in a mood today."

Chase took the clipboard from her and hurried into exam room one. In there was a small boy with a runny nose and his worried mother. Chase put on his best doctor smile. "Hello there, I'm Dr. Chase. Now what's wrong with little James here?"

The woman ignored his question. "I thought we were getting Dr. House. That's what the nurse told me. She said that Dr. House would be right in, not Dr. Chase," she said haughtily.

Chase fought the urge not to roll his eyes. "Dr. House cannot come right now, so I am filling in for him. What's wrong with James?"

"Well, this morning, he got a runny nose, and now his eyes are watering, and he's sneezing like crazy…" Chase tuned out her voice as she rattled off a lengthy list of symptoms. He didn't feel so good-he had a pounding headache and a bit of a stomachache.

A shrill voice interrupted his thoughts. "You're not even paying attention! What's wrong with James? Answer me, or I'll complain to Dr. Cuddy!"

Chase took a deep breath. "Your son has allergies, Mrs. Goodman. Nothing serious. I'll prescribe you some allergy medication…" he scribbled down the prescription, then ripped it off the pad and handed it to her.

"It can't be just allergies!" she exclaimed. "He's sneezing so much! And his nose? That can't be normal!"

Chase resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. "That's classic of allergies, Mrs. Goodman."

She stormed away huffily, slamming the door behind her. Chase groaned. If every patient was like her, he would shoot himself.

Three stuffy noses, two strep throats and one earache later, Chase left the clinic. He sighed. That wasn't exactly the birthday gift he had in mind.

He was heading up to the Diagnostics department when a wave of nausea overcame him. He doubled over until it passed. He then straightened up, only to again be hit with nausea. He ran to the nearest men's room in the hall and banged into a stall. He knelt over the toilet, waiting for his stomach to empty itself. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his stomach contract and the vomit rising in his throat. With a splash, it all came out and into the toilet. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and washed his hands and face. He stuck his mouth under the faucet and swished some water around in his mouth to get rid of the vomit's sour taste.

When he was done, he exited the bathroom. He decided that he would ask House to take the rest of the day off-he felt really sick. He had almost reached the Diagnostics lounge when the hall started to spin. He fell to his knees, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to make it go away, but when he opened his eyes, the dizziness was still there. He tried to get up, then collapsed.

Okay, I'm going to go back to what happened with Chase, his mum and Rowan because a reviewer (thank you, Dybdahl, for bringing this to my attention) asked about what happened next, so I decided to go further with that. Thank you for all the reviews-you guys are great! I still need reviews, though!! I eat reviews for breakfast! Anyways, once again, sorry for the mistakes, I'm still looking for a beta-one person messaged me and asked if I needed a beta, and I answered back, so I'm waiting for her to answer if she does…if she doesn't, okay, but whatever. Next chapter coming soon, hopefully!


	5. I told you not to tell

Hey, guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, been pretty busy. Anyways, I still have to figure out exactly what's wrong with Chase, but I hope you like it so far. I got a couple of reviews telling me what an evil minx I was, and I hope I live up to my reputation as an evil minx! MUAHAHAHAHAH!! Anyways, chapter five is here!

Chapter 5: I told you not to tell 

The younger Chase woke up in a hospital bed. He must have passed out. He looked around. No one was in the room with him, and he didn't expect anyone to be with him. He laid back down. His head was throbbing, and he felt sick.

The door opened, and he sat up with a start. Rowan strode over to his son's bed.

"How're you doing, Robert?" he asked, smiling.

"My head hurts, and so does my arm and stomach," Robert said, glancing up at his father.

"What did you tell the doctors? Did you tell them what happened?" Rowan asked, his voice suddenly dropping to a whisper.

"What-what do you mean?" Robert said, frowning. "I passed out, I don't remember-"

"The doctors said you fell down the stairs. Is that what you told them?"

"Well, yeah, I don't remember waking up, but if that's what they said, then I guess I just don't remember waking-"

"But did you tell them about your mother?" Rowan persisted, his voice rising. Just then, the door opened and another doctor walked in.

"Hello, Robert. I'm Doctor Hartford, I just need to talk to your father for a minute," the man said kindly. Rowan nodded and followed him outside. A few minutes later, he came in, and he was mad.

"You told them about your mum, Robert? Didn't I tell you not to tell? Didn't I? Or don't you remember that, either?" Rowan hissed. Rowan rarely got mad, but when he did, it scared the crap out of Robert.

"Dad, I passed out. That was the last thing I remember. Maybe I woke up, but…I don't remember it. And anyways, why is it so bad to tell them about mum? I'm telling the truth!"

"I don't want them to think she's a violent drunk! This was just a one time thing! Right, Robert? Right?"

Robert hung his head. "No, dad. She hits me all the time when you're not home. She says it makes her feel better."

Rowan just stared, then let out a short, barking laugh. "You're just making things up, aren't you? You just resent your mum for-for this accident. Emilie was never violent. Never." And with that, he left the room. Robert bit his lip as tears started to fall.

Chase shot up straight in bed, breathing hard, shaking, his sheets soaked with sweat. He closed his eyes and tried to make the memory go away.

"Chase! You're awake! Chase? You okay?" He heard a familiar feminine voice ask him softly. He glanced over to see Cameron sitting at his bedside.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," he said, getting his breathing under control. He looked at her. "What happened?"

"Well, last we saw you, you went to do House's clinic duty, and when you didn't come back when you were supposed to, House sent Foreman to go find you. Foreman found you unconscious, a bit down the hall from the bathroom. He said he went into the bathroom and it smelled like vomit. What happened after you left the clinic?"

"I got nauseous, then I puked a bit, cleaned up, left the bathroom, and the last thing I remember is getting dizzy and falling."

Cameron pursed her lips, looking at him with worry. "I'm going to go tell House you're awake. I'll also bring you some water. Are you hungry?"

Chase shook his head. "No, I'm still a bit nauseous. Some water would be good, though."

Cameron smiled at him. "I'll be right back," she said softly, leaving the room. The door slid shut with a soft thud behind her. Chase sighed and leaned his head back. He shut his eyes and thought, _I wonder how long I was out for, and if Cameron was by my side the whole time._ He secretly hoped that she had been there the entire time, and with this comforting thought inside his head, he drifted off to sleep.

There, guys. Sorry it took so long to update. Wow, my shoulders are really sore, and my neck is stiff. That's how long I've been typing today. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! REVIEW OR GODZILLA WILL COME AND EAT YOU! He's my pet, you know. Very cuddly.


	6. Just a virus?

Hi, sorry it's been taking so long, I've been working on my other story, Lost. I'm kind of stuck on this one, but I decided to give it a go, so let's see how this turns out. Hopefully good.

Chapter 6: Just a virus?

Cameron walked back in, saw that Chase was asleep, and smiled. She set the glass of water down on the table beside his bed, then exited the room. She passed Cuddy as she headed down the hall.

"Cameron!" called Cuddy. Cameron turned around to face her boss, who looked worried. "Dr. Foreman told me what happened. How's Chase doing? Is he okay?"

"I just went in to his room a couple of minutes ago. I left to get him some water, and when I came back, he was sleeping. He probably just has a virus," Cameron said, willing herself to believe that. It probably _was _just a virus, but she was worried anyway. Chase was her friend, and she cared about him.

"Okay, but tell me if anything happens, okay?" Cuddy walked away to her office, and Cameron headed to the Diagnostics lounge to get some coffee. She sure could use some.

"Hey, Cameron, how's he doing?" Foreman asked as she entered the room. She shrugged.

"Fine, I guess, he's sleeping now," she said, pouring herself a cup of steaming coffee. Suddenly, her beeper went off. She set down her coffee and looked at the beeper. It was House. Cameron hurriedly shoved it into her pocket and headed out the door.

"What is it, Cameron?" Foreman called, jogging to keep up with her.

"It's Chase," she panted. "House is in his room, something's wrong." They reached the room to find Chase doubled over with pain.

"What's wrong?" Foreman asked House, who was standing near Chase's bed.

"He has a fever of 102. He's also vomiting some more, is having cramps and pain in the lower right quadrant of his abdomen." He looked at them for a moment. "Come on, people, you're a goddamn Diagnostics team! Even a sixth grader could figure this one out!"

Cameron and Foreman thought for a minute. "It really hurts," Chase gasped, then gagged and vomited all over his bed sheets. Foreman ran to get something to clean it up, and Cameron handed Chase the wastebasket.

"Come on, think!" House barked. Suddenly, Cameron's eyes widened.

"Why didn't we think of it?" she moaned.

"What?" Foreman asked, still lost.

"It's so obvious! House is right, a smart kid could probably figure it out," she continued.

"_What?_ What is it?" said Foreman urgently. Cameron looked at him.

"Appendicitis."

A/N. Sorry, bit of a weak ending, but I hope the chapter was decent. Since I have pretty much zero medical knowledge, appendicitis was the best thing I could come up with. I'll try to have another chapter soon. Please review!


	7. Too late

Hi, sorry that it was such a short chapter last time, like I said, I'm sort of stuck. And once again, please just play along and put up with my sucky medical knowledge. I've done some research, and I'm thinking that it's MOSTLY correct, but it might not be.

Chapter 7: Too late

Robert sat in his bed, playing with his bedsheets. He glanced at the door every few minutes, hoping that someone would come in, especially his father. He wanted to apologize to him. He didn't mean to get his mother in trouble; it had just sort of slipped out. He just really wanted his dad to forgive him.

He sighed and became more antsy as the minutes wore on. Finally, his door slid open. He looked up expectantly, but his face fell as he saw Dr. Hartford.

"Hello, Robert," the man said kindly. Robert tried to smile, but couldn't. "Have you spoken with your father?"

Robert shook his head miserably. "He hasn't come back in since…since he found out that I told about Mum.

"That was the right thing to do, son. If your mum was hurting you, you have a right to tell. She shouldn't abuse you like that."

Tears welled up in the child's eyes. "But—but it's my fault. She always hits me because I won't do something for her, or because I talk back to her."

"Robert," Dr. Hartford said in a low voice, "What exactly does she ask you to do?"

The boy shrugged. "Usually just to get her a drink, or something. Whenever I get home from school, she asks me to get her another gin and tonic. I try to say no, because I'm worried that she'll get sick. But then she hurts me, so I have to get it for her." The doctor looked at Robert.

"Robert, none of this is your fault. Don't ever tell yourself that. It was good of you to try not to get your mother sick. I'm sorry that she hurts you."

"But now…Dad is mad at me, too," Robert said, sniffling. Hartford smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry. He can't stay mad for too long. He'll eventually realize that what you did was right." He left the room. Robert watched him walk away, still twisting his bedsheets. He shook his head. No matter how nice Dr. Hartford was, he didn't understand. Dad would never forgive him. He would always blame him. Hate him.

* * *

"Appendicitis." 

Foreman bit his lip. "You're right. How long has he been having the pains, House?" The older doctor shrugged.

"I don't know. But his abdomen is swelling; he needs to be into surgery soon. We need to get him out of here."

"But what if we're wrong?" Cameron asked, looking worried. "We could be wrong. Maybe we should conduct a rectal exam, and a urine test, and possibly a CT scan—" House cut her off.

"But we could be right. I say we opt on the safe side," he said. Foreman nodded.

"He's right, Cameron. We're most probably right, and that means that Chase needs to be in surgery ASAP."

Cameron nodded. "Okay, then. We need to get him downstairs, to an OR."

"He obviously can't walk. We need a wheelchair," Foreman said, taking charge. Cameron ran out into the hall and grabbed one. She wheeled it back into the room. Foreman and House helped Chase into the chair. House looked at him.

"Chase, listen to me. We think you have appendicitis. You have most of the symptoms, and you're going to have to have an appendectomy, just in case. Do you understand?" The young man nodded, his face still screwed up in pain. House laid a hand to his stomach.

"His abdomen's rigid. We need to get going now."

Foreman wheeled him out of the room and into the elevator. "Hurry up," growled House. The elevator door closed. The elevator lurched down slowly, seeming to take an eternity. "Come on, we need the second floor," Foreman muttered. Just when they were on the third floor, Chase shifted in discomfort.

"Chase, what's wrong? How does your stomach feel?" Cameron asked worriedly. Chase just shook his head. Suddenly, he grabbed his stomach. "Chase, what's wrong?"

Chase let out a yell and hunched over with pain. He continued to scream with agony. Cameron's eyes widened. House went pale. "I think his appendix just ruptured."

A/N Sorry, once again, for the really short chapter. I don't think it's very good, and I may go back and fix it later, but for now it will just have to do. Please excuse my apparent lack of medical knowledge. Please review, and constructive criticism is welcomed.


	8. A new problem

A/N Okay, I did tons of research, honestly, but I still don't think that everything will be correct. Please forgive me for mistakes; I have pretty much no medical knowledge. I still hope that everyone likes this. Sorry if it's a bit awkward, but I did the best I could. Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 8: A new problem

Foreman groaned. "Great. Wonderful. What do we do now?"

"Well, if this damn elevator would go a bit faster, we can rush him into surgery right away," House said, banging the wall with frustration. Chase was curled up into a little ball, moaning in pain.

"There's a chance that he can get peritonitis," Cameron said worriedly.

"Well, we'll deal with that if it happens. Can you go a bit FASTER?" House roared, kicking the elevator door. It dinged, then opened. They rushed out. "We need to get him to an OR!" House yelled to the crowd in general. They pushed through everyone, and finally reached an operating room. There was already a surgeon preparing for the surgery. "Can you hurry up a bit?" House said, glancing at the surgeon. His nametag read Dr. Thomas Pearson.

"I'm hurrying, but you didn't exactly give me a warning," Pearson mumbled.

"Well, sorry if we were stuck in the world's most slowest goddamn elevator!" House said.

After a few minutes that seemed like forever, Chase was finally being prepped for surgery. He was given a sedative by injection, then an IV needle into his forearm, where he was receiving the anesthetic. The surgeon decided to perform an open appendectomy; it would most probably be the fastest. As he prepared to make the cut, Foreman and Cameron headed up into the observation room. House stayed in the operating room.

The surgeon made a careful incision through the skin and fat. He separated the muscles of the wall, revealing the peritoneum. He carefully cut the peritoneum, now revealing the cecum, or the section of the colon that the appendix is attached to. He cautiously moved the small intestine, then very slowly but surely removed the ruptured appendix. He put it in a steel bowl that would later be sent to the lab.

"So…do you think Chase will be okay?" Cameron asked Foreman nervously, trying to break the silence. Foreman shrugged.

"Probably, but he may get infected. I just hope that the surgery goes okay. Why are you so worried about him?"

Cameron looked at him. "He's my colleague, Foreman. And my friend. Why wouldn't I be worried? Aren't you worried?"

"Well, yeah. But…you seem…almost…I can't think of the right word. Is he…more than just a friend to you?" Cameron looked at him sharply.

"No! No, why would you think that?" Foreman gave her a sly glance.

"You blush when you're around him."

"Do not!" Cameron protested, though inside, she was wondering if she really was all that obvious.

"You do too. But don't be worried. He likes you, too."

"I never said that I liked him!" Cameron said indignantly.

"Shut up, Cameron. There's no use arguing. But I'm sure he likes you." Cameron finally gave up trying to convince Foreman that she wasn't into Chase.

"How do you know?"

Foreman grinned. "He goes out of his way to be with you. He blushes when you talk to him. And…he told me."

"What?" asked Cameron, shocked.

"Don't tell him I told you this, or he would kill me. But we went to get drinks once, and he told me. He also told me that you would never feel like that towards him. Maybe now I can tell him otherwise."

"Don't you dare," hissed Cameron. She turned back to the window. "Pearson's getting ready to close up." They watched Pearson start to finish the surgery.

He tied off the blood vessels, then closed up the peritoneum and the muscle wall. Finally, he sutured the skin shut. Cameron couldn't help but sigh in relief when she saw that he was done, though she knew that there was a good chance that since the appendix had already ruptured, Chase could get a serious infection.

The whole operation took a bit over an hour, though it felt like a day to Cameron. Chase was now moved into a recovery room, where House wanted him closely monitored to watch for signs of infection. Cameron volunteered to stay with him.

She nervously stayed by his bed, watching the clock, wondering when he was going to wake up. After about a half of an hour, she heard a small noise. She glanced at the bed, where she saw Chase's eyes open slowly.

"Hey, how do you feel?" she asked quietly.

"Like shit," he replied. She laughed, then scooted her chair closer to the bed.

"As far as we know, the surgery went well. You had a good surgeon. Dr. Pearson. He was very careful and thorough," she said. He nodded.

"But…my appendix ruptured."

"We know. I'm monitoring you for signs of infection." She sighed. "There's a pretty decent chance that you'll get sick, Chase. But for now, we're just watching you, just being careful."

He nodded, and his eyes started to slide out of focus. "I'm really tired…I think I'm going to go back to sleep for a while," he said. Cameron smiled; he did look pretty drowsy.

"Goodnight," she whispered as his eyes closed. She took a deep breath and hoped that he would be okay. She didn't even realize that her own eyes were slipping shut.

Cameron jerked awake. She didn't even know that she had fallen asleep. She glanced at her watch. She had been asleep for over two hours. She wondered if anyone else had come in to check on Chase. But they would've woken her up, wouldn't they?

She looked at Chase. "Oh, no," she murmured. He was curled up into a little ball, shaking. "Chase?" she said quickly. "Chase? Are you okay?"

"My stomach really hurts," he whispered. She grabbed a thermometer out of his drawer and took his temperature. "Oh, god," she said, reading it. His temperature was four degrees below normal. "Chase, I need to go get House," she said. She ran out of the room, down the hall, and into the Diagnostics lounge, where House and Foreman were working on a case. "House!" she said. "Chase has hypothermia. His temperature's four degrees below usual." House and Foreman stood up abruptly and headed to Chase's room.

"When did it start?" House asked. Cameron hung her head.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I—I fell asleep." House just shook his head and went faster. He reached the room.

"Chase. Can you hear me?"

"What?" Chase said. "My stomach kinda hurts…I'm cold, too," he said, his speech slurring.

"He's disoriented," Foreman said. He felt his pulse. "His pulse is way too fast," he said. "Chase. When did this start?"

"I…I don't know," he said, his breath getting faster and faster.

"He's hyperventilating," Cameron said. "I'm so stupid, how could I have fallen asleep?" She looked as if she was about to cry.

"He's in septic shock," House said. "He needs treatment. Now."

A/N I know I wrote this kind of quickly, but I will probably go back later and revise it, add more details and stuff like that. Tell me what you think of it, though. Please review!! And for the millionth time, please excuse my poor medical knowledge. I know this chapter sounded a bit awkward, but I will go back and fix it sometime. I just don't have time now, and I want to post it.


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